Hamilton Invitational not so inviting for Hawkeyes

April 26, 2008

HAMILTON, Mich. — The Hawkeyes dropped two games at their home tournament Saturday.

GAME ONE

The Hawkeyes battled Spring Lake during the first round of the Hamilton Invitational. Going into the last inning, the host Hawkeyes trailed 5-4. The Lakers erupted for 5 runs in the seventh to post a 10-4 victory. Evan Mudd (1-2) suffered the loss on the mound. Leading the offensive attack for the Hawkeyes was Carter DeBoe, who was 3 for 3 with a double and one RBI. Senior third baseman Clark Becksford went 2 for 4 for Hamilton.

GAME TWO

Following the loss to Spring Lake, the Hawkeyes ran into an angry Lowell baseball team. The Red Arrows, who came into the game ranked #6 in Division 1, were upset in the first round by Sparta 8-2. While the wind gusted at 40 miles per hour, the Red Arrows blew past the Hawkeyes by a score of 22-9. Lowell cranked out 18 hits while the host Hawkeyes made a game of it for three innings. Taking the loss on the mound was Carter DeBoe (0-1). Tyler Hulst paced the Hawkeyes by going 2 for 2 with a double, 2 runs batted in and 3 runs scored. Sophomore Jason Henrickson went 2 for 3 with 2 RBI while senior Bryan Zoet added 2 RBI.

The Hawkeyes look to rebound this week as they return to OK-Gold conference play against the Huskies of Forest Hills Northern. Tuesday’s game will be at Forest Hills Northern with the first pitch slated for 4:15 p.m. Hamilton trails conference leader Byron Center by one game heading into this week.

LATER THIS WEEK

Thursday 5/1 Home vs. Forest Hills Northern

Friday 5/2 Home vs. Rogers (DH)

Hawkeyes slug way to season split with Saxons

April 25, 2008

HASTINGS, Mich. — After losing their first matchup against Hastings, the Hawkeyes responded with their strongest offensive outing of the season to earn a split in the season series. Slugging 12 hits enabled the Hawkeyes to put people on base in every inning. Jeffrey Dekker, making his first start of the season, earned the victory by pitching a complete game. While not allowing an earned run, Dekker struck out nine in the win.

Pacing the Hawkeyes offensively was shortstop Tyler Hulst. While going 4 for 4, Hulst reached base every time at bat. Jason Henrickson and Carter DeBoe added two hits apiece. Jeffrey Dekker tied a MHSAA record by getting hit with three pitches in one game. This is the second time Dekker has tied the state record. The first time was at Hastings on May 1, 2006.

Hamilton ends the week with a 4-1 OK-Gold conference record. The Hawkeyes are next in action on Saturday as they host the Hamilton Invitational. Hamilton plays Spring Lake in the first round at 10 a.m. The other half of the bracket sees Sparta take on Lowell, who is ranked #6 in this week’s MHSBCA.org poll.

HamiltonHawkeyeBaseball.org up and running

April 25, 2008

HAMILTON, Mich. — Our baseball program’s Web site was launched today at HamiltonHawkeyeBaseball.org. A lot of thanks goes out to Cody Eding, an alumnus of our program, for his work in getting this project up and running. You’ll find game recaps, schedules, photos and announcements here. So check in at HamiltonHawkeyeBaseball.org for all the latest news surrounding our baseball program.